Keep me Strong
by Lenhart-F
Summary: The Grand Magic Games ended a while ago, but did they show all its events? What happened along with all the fighting and competing? What I offer you, is a chance to see through the games and into the hearts of people who got connected by feelings they had in common. From tears they found comfort, and from pain, they found something else. (GaLe fans, read the warning inside!)
1. Terrible Start

**It's been a long time. I thought I'd leave this site for good this time. I barely find time to write and I usually delete whatever I start writing due to lack of inspiration or time... or both. So... I decided to start this 'what if' scenario and see where it would go. I hope you all enjoy this first, and probably, only chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy tail.**

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Title: Keep me Strong

Chapter: Terrible Start

Pairing(s): Gray x Lucy

* * *

 **Attention!**

If you came here for Gajeel x Levy, please read this!

Gajeel x Levy will happen and other pairings may occur as the story proceeds in case I continue this.

* * *

Fairy tail's members had many particularities, but they also shared a few similarities. For instance, none of them took defeat lightly. The anguish of losing, of being bested when releasing their best, they all went through that at some point in their journey.

The grand magic games had just started and brought devastating news with them. Gray lost horribly to Raven Tail's Nullpudding. He was in a terrible mood and avoided contact with his teammates. How ridiculous for him to lose like that in the first round, his guild needed him badly. Gray needed that victory and so did Fairy tail.

But he failed…

He walked past Lucy ashamed of his performance. "It's only the first round." Said the blonde trying to cheer her friend. The girl walked up to the arena ready to have her own fight. She tried to banish the image of Gray's reaction from her mind and focus on the fight.

* * *

By evening, Gray walked alone at Crocus' well-lighted streets, staring at the horizon not sure where to go. His mood took another turn for the worse when he heard about Lucy's defeat. When he thought his day couldn't get any worse, Fairy tail, decided to gather at a bar for some kind of post-defeat celebration.

He decided not to attend the meeting for now and headed back to the Honey Bone hotel. The ice maker distractedly walked to his room, his mind doing loops around his loss as he walked. He bumped into another person who was equally distracted and stopped concerned about the sudden contact.

"…Sorry." He spoke in a low tone, his eyes glued to the ground. He looked up to see Lucy staring back at him. She held a worried expression, which caused him to hesitate for a moment. "Lucy?"

Lucy smiled weakly at her friend, but her eyes showed deep sorrow. She knew she wasn't making it difficult for Gray to read her, but the boy had a hard time hiding his own emotions as well.

Unsure of what to say next, Lucy struggled to find something useful in the depths of her mind, she would soon realize the silence went better in situations like that. "What a terrible start." She began regretting her words as soon as they left her lips.

Gray's eyes revealed surprise with the girl's choice of subject. "A terrible start indeed."

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…"

"Don't bother apologizing. It's…" Gray paused letting a sigh escape without his consent. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "It's ok."

They stood at the corridor avoiding eye contact for a while. Both felt the need to say something, both refused to speak first, at least until the tension became so present it was almost palpable.

Lucy's eyes trembled, as she witnessed her teammate's inability to overcome the overwhelming defeat they suffered. She thought it would do her good to avoid the talking about defeat related affairs for the rest of the day. She also agreed that her company wouldn't be much of an entertainment for anyone.

However, seeing Gray succumb to the lowest of his self-confidence made her feel some kind of sympathy. She was also desperate to redeem herself; she needed the comfort she didn't think she could provide.

Looking at her side, she pondered on her options and wondered if staying by her friend's side would be any worse than sulking by herself at her room. She chose the first and opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted when she was about to.

"Lucy…"

Gray's voice was still devoid of any sign of hope. "Would you keep me company for a bit?" He asked making the girl blush slightly. She knew Gray found her attractive, which caused certain uneasiness to mix with a bit of unexpected joy taking place inside her. Lucy shook her head trying to dispel the malicious thoughts forming in her head.

The ice mage took her gesture as a denial for his question and for once, his already saddened countenance was replaced by a look of pure disappointment. "I'm sorry I asked." He replied getting ready to leave only to be stopped by a tug in his shirt.

The blonde mage hurried to ease his mind as she tried to clear the misunderstanding. "It's ok… I didn't mean it like that." Lucy spoke behind his back thanking the heavens he couldn't see her face.

They agreed to head to their own rooms to take a shower and meet back at the hotel lobby later on. Both mages hesitantly departed leaving an awkward atmosphere behind them. Lucy waved her hand smiling at her friend who returned her kindness with a smile of his own.

At her room, Lucy turned on the water discarding her clothes for a highly anticipated shower. She avoided thinking about her fight and was surprised to realize another insistent thought circling around her head.

Lucy found herself concerned about what she would wear for her meeting with Gray. She took her index finger to her lower lip wondering why she suddenly felt nervous about it. She laughed trying to convince herself it was just female vanity to look beautiful at all times.

In the end, she picked casual clothes and headed back to the lobby. She was worried about her punctuality. "I hope I'm not late." The celestial spirit mage spoke to herself as she left the room.

"You're not."

Lucy squealed alarmed with the person standing beside her door. "Gray!" She exclaimed in a complaining manner. "You scared me."

Gray scratched the bridge of his nose. "Sorry. I thought it would be ok for me to come pick you up." He failed to disguise his embarrassment as the words left his mouth.

"Huh?" Lucy answered dealing with her share of embarrassment. "You didn't have to." Lucy noticed the regret in her companion's face and once again felt the need to speak.

"Don't get me wrong…" She started. "It's not that I dislike it." She held her left elbow with her right hand and played with her skirt using her free hand. "I'm just not used to it." Lucy caught a glimpse of joy growing dangerously inside her.

Gray smiled realizing he did not need to rethink his decision. "I can't just let a cute girl like you go walking around alone at night." The ice mage froze on his feet trying to figure out why in the world he was acting flirtatious around Lucy.

From everything Gray told her, one particular word remained in Lucy's brain echoing incessantly. "Cute?" She asked covering her flushed face with her hands and stared at her friend through the gaps she left on purpose between her slim fingers.

"Y-Yeah… We should go now." Gray turned around clumsily trying to avoid further  
awkwardness.

The duo left the hotel without a clear goal. They aimed at nothing but the slightest amount of distraction they could get from each other. Lucy kept a safe distance between them. She didn't want people to misunderstand their little walk for a date.

She actually felt bad when she considered Gray's position. He was there to calm his mind, the same as her; she did not need to be thinking that far into possibilities.

As if to test her theory, the night was still young and the streets filled with couples. It didn't seem to bother Gray who was too absorbed into his own thoughts to even realize how unusual his surroundings had just become.

They walked past a small group of people and Lucy could swear she heard the words _busty blonde_ being directed at her. She looked around and noticed two boys approaching at a considerable pace. The mage cursed the so-called safe distance she maintained from her friend; she would not mind some closure now.

"Hey cutie!" One of the boys said while the other took hold of her wrist. "How about we go for a walk."

"Let go!" She tried to pull her arm with a yank, but the grip around her wrist was strong enough to hold. "I said, let go!"

Lucy did not have to repeat herself as a fist crashed against the boy's face sending him flying across the street. "Oi, teme! I'm not one to pick useless fights, but you better not give me a reason to." Gray growled ferociously.

The remaining boy took three steps back fearing for his facial structure. Lucy blinked twice in awe noticing how far the poor teenage landed from the striking point. "You didn't have to… I can take care of it…"

"Like hell I'll just stand here watching these idiots mess with you!" Gray held both hands in fists; his new coat was already discarded by the time. He scanned the terrified figure before him.

"I know you!" One of the girls from the group shouted. "You're that guy who lost horribly at the first match of the grand magic games. Not satisfied, she went ahead and continued to taunt the duo while laughing like a maniac. "And you must be his unlucky girlfriend!" She pointed a finger at Lucy.

"Losers! Get lost before I call Raven tail to kick your ass."

"Tch…"

Gray felt a hand on his shoulder. "Forget them." Lucy spoke behind his back. "They're not worth your time." She reassured taking his coat from the floor and wiping the dirt from it.

Gray sighed before turning to leave the place. "You got lucky this time." He mumbled below his breath

"Look how weak! Even non-mage people make Fairy tail scared nowadays! What a shame!"

Lucy shook her head in denial asking Gray to remain calm. "Let's go." She held Gray's arm in an attempt to get them moving again.

After leaving the group of rioters behind, they walked in silence for a couple of minutes before Lucy decided to break it. "I know you're angry, but…"

Gray cut her off. "I'm sorry about it." He apologized sincerely. "I almost lost my cool there."

"Almost?" Lucy laughed softly at her friend's remark. "You losing your cool sounds like a joke really." She covered her mouth with her free hand snickering behind her fingers.

"Why is that?" Asked an indignant mage.

"You're an ice mage, dummy!" Lucy replied playfully. "You're always cool." She realized the double meaning and honestly didn't mind being misunderstood.

Gray made a face trying to hide a blush as they continued to walk. "Did I look cool?" He asked not looking at her.

"Nope, you looked like a brute."

Gray's jaw dropped abruptly as he felt the sting.

Lucy giggled cutely. "I wonder what makes guys think we're into sweaty shirtless muscled bodies and manly fights over us." She could barely concentrate on her walking due to her excessive laughter.

"You don't need to go that far…"

"I'm sorry." Lucy wiped a single tear from her eye. "I'm just bemused by the male population's assumptions." She glanced at the other couples passing by and noticed most of them were holding hands.

The blonde girl looked back at her companion and felt the urge to hold his arm, not because she wanted to, but because she was feeling left out in the crowd. A bunch of people walking around, but just a few seemed to be single; it was beginning to bother her.

"Gray…"

"Hn?"

She gave her current thought another try to see if it was really worth the consequences. Lucy wanted to _fit_ in the crowd, not the way people would think she did, but not the way she chose to believe either.

"Would you mind if I…"

Gray watched confused as Lucy continued to search in her vocabulary the right words to make him understand exactly what she meant, no space for multiple interpretations, not with such a delicate subject.

"I wanted to know…if…" They were walking past a dark alley when a stray cat jumped out of it meowing like it came straight out of a horror movie to give the poor mage the fright of her life.

It was _super effective_ as Lucy jumped horribly startled by the sudden alarming sound and hugged Gray's arm out of pure reflex and a bit of instinct.

She glared menacingly at the defenseless animal as it purred and paraded out of the way causing Lucy to begin planning on writing a book named ' _ten ways to torture a cat'_ , she paused musing about her tittle choice and added a ' _without pain'_ in the end.

"Jerk!" Was the best she could come up with to demonstrate the fury of a scared celestial spirit mage, and she felt bad afterwards thinking she was mean to the little kitty. Lucy rushed her way along the street trying to flee the scene.

Their aimlessly treading led them to many food and gifting stores, restaurants and other places they could visit, but they decided to keep walking and eventually arrived at a river not far from the city. There, they could see a few couples taking small boats and enjoying themselves on rides across the river.

The dealer was a man around his fifty. He had slightly aged hair color coupled with a few wrinkles on his face. He left his cabin approaching the duo without a warning, and started offering his services.

"What a lovely couple we have here. Are you two interested in a love ride across Crocus' river?"

Lucy's face was instantly marked by red as she realized she was still holding Gray's arm. She blamed the cat, but could not find reason to become angry at it anymore. "We're not a couple." She answered evasively still not letting go of his arm.

"Oh really? You mean not yet. C'mon, don't be shy, today is a love commemorative day in Crocus." The man revealed explaining the amount of couples going out that night.

Gray took his wallet and handed the jewels to the man.

"I see… bringing her here was all part of your meticulously plotted plan, right? So you're actually interested in renting a boat, young boy?"

"If it'll make you shut up."

Lucy squeezed Gray's arm. "Gray! That's rude… apologize."

The dealer started laughing at the duo. Both mages stood still wondering what was so funny about a lecturing session.

"Look at you two…" The man's laughter calmed to become a simple smile. "You two look like a married couple already." He watched their reaction for his own amusement for a while.

"Gray… let's go." Lucy said unable to hide her frustration.

"Oh… that's no good. You can't call him Gray…" Said the dealer rubbing one of his hands against the other like a scheming evil genius. "You have to call him dar-ling."

Lucy hid her face pressing it against Gray's arm and encircled her arms around it holding him even harder.

"Oi! You're annoying her." Gray was about to argue with the dealer when he suddenly heard something that would soon make him doubt reality.

"D-Dar… ling…"

While the dealer's eyes shone with passion, Gray's face had disbelief written all over it. Did she really? No way! Did she?

"Mou… let's get to this boat ride already." Lucy complained with muffled shouts. She parted dragging Gray along her.

From the distance, the man could only stare and envy their somewhat naïve behavior. "It's so good to be young."

Lucy pushed Gray onto the boat trying to rush the process. The ice maker struggled to keep his balance as he stepped on the boat making it rock wildly.

Gray offered his friend a hand and she gladly accepted it delicately stepping onto the boat for their accidental ride. He started rowing just for the sake of rowing while Lucy glared at him for apparently no reason. "You…" She angrily shot. "Why did you rent it?"

He swallowed nervously when he couldn't find the answer. "I don't know… I thought it would be fun."

"Unbelievable." She sighed.

Lucy looked at the sky and the stars seemed to be alive as they greeted her. It was beautiful, especially for her. She was a celestial spirit mage, the sky and the stars felt like home. It calmed her and eventually calmed Gray too.

The blonde looked back at her companion with a puzzled look on her face. "Now what?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an explanation.

"Now we enjoy the ride…" Gray replied when he was sure there wouldn't be a better answer for that question.

Lucy pouted. "We're not a couple! How are we supposed to enjoy this?" She reasoned.

Gray stopped the boat and took the oars inside it. "Do you want me to go back?" He asked seriously making Lucy almost wish she hadn't complained about the ride.

"It's not like this… it's just that we…"

Gray waited patiently for his spoiled friend to finish her sentence. "What's bothering you?"

"Never mind… it's nothing…"

In response to Lucy's lack of communication, Gray remained motionless as a form of protest. "I'm not buying it… but I'm not about to insist either."

Lucy sighed once again. "You'll probably think I'm stupid."

"I won't."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I can't."

Lucy frowned. "I won't tell you then."

Gray sat there staring directly at the girl's eyes.

"Gray… you're staring."

"I am."

"Then stop."

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you."

"Fine! I get it… you win." She finally gave up.

"So?"

"I've been thinking about our loss again." She confessed. "I bet you think I'm stupid now… you've been trying to cheer me up as much as you could and here I am mopping over it again."

Gray had to hold in a laughter that was about to burst out. "You really are stupid."

A vein popped in Lucy's forehead as she squeezed the boat sides with enough force to crack it. "You don't have to be so direct about it."

"I've been thinking about the same thing. I just don't let it show that easily." Gray admitted making Lucy lower her guard a bit. "I want to avoid it, but it keeps coming back, it's so freaking annoying, I can't seem to get rid of these thoughts."

Lucy could only stare at Gray as he finally became honest about the occurred. "I guess that makes us both stupid then." She giggled.

"I guess." He smiled softly yet ever so weakly. "I don't take defeat very well."

Lucy's expression softened. "I don't see you lose so often, in the other hand, I am always dragging you guys down… I feel so useless sometimes."

"I lose more battles than you realize." The ice mage shook his head. "I see… so that's what was making you feel down, huh?"

She nodded embarrassedly. "I'm always the one needing help, always the one being trapped, always the one who needs recuing. It bothers me to no end."

"You might not be the strongest of us, but you're surely not weak. You're just making unfair comparisons." Gray started earning the girl's attention. "If I compare myself with Erza, Laxus and Gildarts, I'll feel bad too, but that never stopped me from training and growing stronger."

"You have a point… they would easily kick your ass."

"Oi!"

Lucy laughed. "I'm sorry, and thank you for comforting me. I guess I just have to become stronger." Her mind traveled back a few minutes not letting details go unnoticed. "You said you lose more battles than you let show. What did you mean?"

Gray fixed his gaze at the bottom of the boat before retrieving the oars and straining his hands on them as he began to row back.

The other mage left her spot and placed a hand over the boy's oar preventing him from rowing. "That's not fair. I opened my heart to you, why won't you do the same?"

"I can't…" He simply replied.

"You can, trust me."

"This won't end well."

"Why don't you trust me? Please let me help you, just as you did to me. I exposed myself to you. I let you know something very personal."

Gray looked for several excuses to no avail. Lucy was completely right; she let him know a piece of private information from her and he gave her nothing in return.

"Fine then…" Gray prepared mentally for his secrecy exchange when they heard the dealer's voice shouting for them.

"Love birds! Time is up, get back here you two!"

Lucy cursed the man's existence as they rowed back to the place they were supposed to return the boat. She held a vicious expression when asked about how enjoyable the ride was.

"It could have been a lot better!" Was her annoyed answer.

It was common sense that women should never remain bewildered, their curiosity was a hazardous zone and it should be avoided at all cost.

On their way back, they decided to stop by an ice cream store since Lucy was anxious and just felt like eating sweets. The girl was apparently growing used to hanging around holding Gray's arm since she repeated the gesture while going to the bar where their friends were waiting.

Gray decided it was a good idea to lick Lucy's ice cream without permission. Lucy frowned not really expecting the childish move, she complained while lightly beating on his chest with her small fist.

"Give it back!" She ordered unaware of what she implied with it. Lucy stiffened when realization finally downed on her.

Gray laughed to his heart's content. "Are you sure?" He smiled cockily and then stuck out his tongue.

Lucy saw that convinced smile and immediately felt like removing it no matter what. "Yes, I am sure." She returned the favor by generously licking Gray's ice cream.

"Wow… I think you drooled on it." Gray joked making the girl's face go red with both anger and shame. "You'll have to give me yours now." He ordered.

She looked at his face and noticed he wasn't really bothered by his dessert's condition. He was smiling and teasing her with the intent of sharing his slightly improved mood. Lucy realized how foolish she had been, she did not even try to feel better assuming it would be useless.

Her face enlightened with new hope as she continued to walk by Gray's side suddenly holding his arm tighter. She giggled not minding to explain the source of her mood swing. Lucy closed her eyes and for once noticed how warm the ice mage's arm felt against her skin.

"Not always cool I guess…" She muttered louder than she meant to.

"Sorry?" Asked a confused Gray.

She chuckled before replying. "You heard nothing."

The night fell in its full glory bringing a chilling breeze with it. Lucy shivered a bit making Gray feel his manly pride falter since had nothing but his shirt on. He looked again and saw his coat folded over Lucy's arm. She had been carrying it all this time; otherwise, it would be lost somewhere around the city.

Lucy stopped and slid an arm inside one of the sleeves then proceeded to wear the coat completely. She stopped by a mirrored surface to check how she looked.

"It's so long…" She mused. "I never realized how taller you were." Lucy spun analyzing different angles of her body. "Do I look good?" She turned to Gray waiting for his reply.

"Can I take a picture?"

Lucy's face heated up drastically. Did she really look that good in a coat that didn't even properly fit her body?

"Natsu would never believe me if I told him you wore it."

"You're not telling him." She pouted and pushed forward ignoring Gray's answer.

Gray opened a door and walked into an old building. "I don't need to." He grinned pointing to a sign over the door reading _Bar Sun_. Lucy paused and looked inside the building to see her friends staring at her through the windows. She was briefly petrified, but decided to act normally. Both mages finished their dessert before meeting their friends.

Sweating and walking stiffly was what she could manage while trying to act normally.

Lucy walked inside the pub being greeted by her friends. She still wore Gray's coat much to Juvia's dismay.

The water mage had that dark jealousy aura all around her in a second. She approached the duo glaring coldly at the blonde girl, but was quickly contained by the other mages.

Levy approached the new guests concerned about her friend's well-being. "Are you alright, Lu-chan?"

Lucy gave her the thumbs up before replying. "Totally fine. I'm actually more pumped up than ever."

Mirajane watched from another table with a hand carefully placed over her giggling mouth. "My, my… I wonder what could have caused such a drastic change of heart." She muttered under her breath.

"Did you say something?" Lisanna asked her sister.

Mirajane shook her head. "Nothing at all."

The little gathering portrayed all Fairy tail was famous for, loud people, gallons of alcohol and a lot of broken furniture.

Lucy took a sit at a table after scanning the room for the safest place to stay. She secretly wished they never reached the bar. One small glance at the ice maker's direction was enough to realize he felt the same.

Their eyes met for a brief second and Gray smiled tenderly at her while waving his hand. She could not hold her own smile as she shyly raised her hand to wave back at him.

Her daydreaming was rudely interrupted by the appearance of Bacchus from Quatro Cerberus. The man made a scene winning a drinking contest against Kana and taking what little piece of clothing the card mage considered her _top_ as a trophy. He left after taunting Fairy tail, making the carefree atmosphere vanish along with his presence.

The night was at its peak when people decided to head to bed and prepare for the next day's events. All Fairy Tail staff returned to the Honey Bone hotel for a deserved rest.

Gray yawned as he opened the door to his room. He was about to close the door when he felt resistance from the other side. He wanted to force the door shut but fortunately decided against it.

"The hell is wrong with this door?" He heard a soft whimper coming front behind the wooden object.

"You really are a brute." Spoke Lucy with puffed cheeks. "I came to return your coat." She handed the coat to Gray and prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

The girl turned around curiously. "Hn?"

Gray smirked with confidence radiating from his face. "We'll definitely get them back for what they've done!" He extended his hand for Lucy.

Lucy answered with the same amount of enthusiasm. "Yes!" She grabbed Gray's hand firmly showing her restored resolve.

Both of them took their separate ways getting ready for whatever would come their way.

* * *

 **I had a few ideas while writing the main story and I didn't feel like dividing my thoughts in two different projects, so I'll post a few short stories after each chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

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 **Fan fiction**

Lucy paced around her room explaining a set of rules for a much laid back Gray who was resting on her bed. She paused and turned with authority in her speech.

"Listen up! We have to submit at least one chapter per week, or else we will never reach the sacred mark of five thousand reviews. Understand?"

"Aye, aye!"Gray saluted the girl yawning lazily on her bed. "Why the hell do you want so many reviews anyway?"

Lucy blinked in surprise. "Because we write for feedback, if we have no feedback, we have no will to write. It's simple."

"What if you get five thousand reviews and they are all flames?"

Lucy frowns. "Is my writing that bad? Flamers are idiots who should and shall be ignored. We can't let stupid people make our work seem stupid, just because their brains don't have enough working cells. Besides, you're helping too... let's get going."

Gray grunted clearly annoyed. "Alright."

"The first scene is an action scene. I'll start writing it and you tell me what you think, ok?" The blonde proposed with a lovely smile on her face.

"Ok..."

 _Team Lucy was surrounded by the darkest of all-_

"Wait..."

"What is it, Gray? I'm not done yet." Lucy complained with her hands on her hips.

"Team Lucy?" Gray chuckled lightly. "When did we become team Lucy?"

"This is fan fiction, Gray! We don't have to be one hundred percent exact."

"Isn't that what you call being OOC?

Lucy clenched her hands in fists at the suggestion made by Gray's remark. "Are you implying I'm not fit to be this team's leader?" She got nothing as reply and decided to continue. "Now let me finish!"

 _...the darkest of all dark guilds-_

"Seriously? Darkest of all dark guilds?"

Lucy paused between her interpretation losing a considerable amount of her patience."What's wrong now?"

"Ok, let me try." Gray began in a teasing tone. "Why don't you say the dark mages from the dark guilds united in a dark conspiracy to create the darkness brigade and paint the world in blue?"

Lucy had a vein popped in her forehead along Gray's exaggerated sentence; she only paused to muse at the end. "Why blue?"

"Oh sorry... **dark** blue."

"Jerk!" She lay by his side on the bed looking at the roof. "Let me finish before you start your whining."

"Darth Vader approves your story."

She poked his cheek. "Shut up!"

 _...the darkest of all 'mages' when Natsu rose to his feet with a battle cry and rushed at the enemy-_

"Please tell me he will get his ass handed to himself..."

"Gray!" She called out angered by the constant interruptions.

"I mean it." Gray paused and put on Lucy's eyeglasses in an attempt to look intelectual. "First... by the way you're leading this scene, you make it look like we're all exhausted, and so Natsu suddenly stands with full strength and rushes at the enemy..." He looked at her waiting for a reply.

"And?" She asked impatiently.

"And you want this to work? The bad guy beats us over, and over, and over, and over, and over and over-"

"That's enough, Gray! I get it." Lucy pinched his nose.

Gray stared at her with a skeptical expression and allowed the silence to take over before continuing.

"And over again! And then Natsu emerges from the ashes and finishes the fight with a single, hit?"

"Ok... you have a point."

 _...but receives a devastating strike that sends him flying back to the remaining mages. Lucy realizes her team is in utter shock from facing such a powerful enemy and begins casting one of her strongest magic; Urano Metria. She gathers a huge amount of magic power-_

"Stop!" Gray shouts in frustration making the girl shiver with the fright it gave her.

"What now?" She replies equally frustrated.

"I have three options to describe this situation. First: the dark mage is retarded and is waiting for the people of the earth to finish sharing their energy with you."

"It's not a freaking Genki Dama! It's Urano Me-"

"Second: all remaining mages, as you chose to call us, and don't forget Erza is among these guys, are completely disposable since they do nothing but watch you summon your megazord."

"..."

"Third: I feel pretty useless having no lines in your story. You'll have to make up for it."

Gray removed the eyeglasses he's been wearing and pulled Lucy into a warm embrace. The girl pouted in response still annoyed by his latest remarks. He smiled stroking her hair while brushing his lips against hers until it becomes a deep kiss.

Lucy allowed him to have control. She deliberately begged for more closure and freed herself from her restraints almost failing to realize they were both in bed. She retreated into a safe distance placing a pillow between them.

"Enough with the action." Lucy said shyly. "Let's move to the romance part."

Gray nodded agreeing with his girlfriend and pulled the notebook she's been using to write her story. He began to write and took fifteen seconds to finish the whole romance scene.

"Done!"

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the comment. "Let me see it." She started reading the contents of the romance scene to realize the text had barely two lines in it.

 _Lucy can't help but feel like she's been blessed by the gods as she looks at her boyfriend. She assaulted him with hugs and kisses before demanding him to make children with her._

"What the...!" Lucy paused trying her hardest not to kill her blessed gift from the gods. "Where do you get these ideas from?"

"My head."

"I should part it in two to have better access to these dazzling thoughts of yours." Lucy erased the whole scene without mercy. "A romantic scene should be descriptive and above all... romantic!"

Gray sat on the bed wondering which part of his scene wasn't romantic.

"It should be like this!"

 _She felt his strong arms around her waist and wrapped her own around his neck in return. Their faces were only inches apart as he continued to decrease the gap between their bodies-_

"Sounds like you're going to rape me."

Lucy grasped her pencil with enough force to break it. "What did you say?"

"I said you're really talented with your words."

"Liar." She turned around not wanting to face her lover. "You think a romantic scene is all about getting straight to sex? You should go read those M rated one-shot that consist of ten percent story development and ninety percent sex."

Gray hugged his girlfriend from behind placing light kisses on the nape of her neck. "I promise I'll do better at description if you show me how a real romance scene should be."

Lucy couldn't help but smile at the seductive innuendo. "I guess it can't be helped..." She switched off the lights crawling over the ice mage's body. The blonde hovered over him leaning in for a kiss, her tongue immediately asking for permission to enter his mouth. They kept the kiss going increasing the heat and the passion in their movements.

"Is this the part where I slowly discard your clothes noticing how beautiful your skin looks against the moonlight?" He asked trying to make up for his previous mistakes.

"No..." Lucy answered slowly licking and biting his lower lip, her hands traveled all the length from his chest to his abs.

"This is the part where I demand you make children with me."

* * *

 **A/N: Is it worth being continued? It's been a while since I last wrote something. Please tell me what you thought about it, and if you liked it, leave me a review, it makes my days brighter. Any form of feedback is acceptable, so critics are also welcomed.**

 **I meant this to be short, I know many people write short chapters in order to maintain a weekly update, and I know some of you give up when facing huge chapters like this. I just can't write short chapters. I always end up overdoing them... I think a 5 page chapter won't cover the events I planned for it.**

 **As usual, english is not my language, so I know many errors may occur and I ask you all to forgive me, but I have no time to focus on learning proper english writing with work and college going on. If any of you feel bothered by anything here, please point that out in a PM and I will correct it... AGAIN, point it out in a PM, not as a review please. Reviews get me all hyped... imagine my face when I realize it's a correction, and if you're struggling to imagine it, just take a look below.**

 **:(**


	2. Troubleshooting

**Well, I decided to try and continue this one to see where it goes. I'll post the second chapter now, but I don't have any predictions for updates. Anyway, thank you for reading the first chapter. I hope you'll enjoy the second one and continue to support me!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy tail.**

* * *

Title: Keep me Strong

Chapter: Troubleshooting

Pairing(s): Gray x Lucy / Mild Gajeel x Levy

 **Attention!**

For those who read chapter one when it was posted, I'll begin a series of short stories and the first one will be posted at the first chapter.

* * *

Half asleep or half awake, it was hard to define the state of Gray's mind as he moved back and forth from the two stages. He rolled on his bed leaning to the lazy side of the equation. He could not sleep well at night since a torrent of thoughts concerning the next day flooded his sleeping hours. Preoccupation and, surprisingly, a bit of anticipation kept him company until the first signs of sunlight started to invade the room.

Finally awake, or so he thought, Gray rubbed his eyes yawning and then stretching his arms up in the air. He looked around and noticed the other mages were still sleeping. Natsu snored heavily and Gajeel constantly complained about not wanting to eat vegetables in his sleep. Coming from someone who actually ate metal, the dragon slayer seemed to be unexpectedly picky with his food.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Gray hopped off his bed and headed to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. He turned on the water and let it pour in his hands before lowering his face to wash it rubbing his hands against his eyes. He started brushing his teeth when someone else decided to say hello to the sun.

Gajeel rose to his feet and joined the ice mage in the bathroom. Gray apparently did not mind sharing the room with the other mage. "Morning…" He greeted and received silence as an answer. He turned around to see Gajeel about to lower his pants in front of the toilet. "What the… get a hold of yourself!" He shouted with foam shooting out of his mouth in an attempt to preserve his eyes from the disgusting scene he was about to see.

The metal eating mage opened his eyes completely for the first time that morning and shivered from head to toe when he saw Gray standing in front of him. "Oi! What are you doing here? Can't ya see I'm using the damn bathroom?"

Gray's forehead popped up a vein. "I could ask you just the same damn thing!" He exclaimed indignantly.

"Ahhh! Will you two just shut up?" Natsu's voice echoed across the room. "I'm trying to sleep."

Both mages turned their attention to the salamander before replying in unison. "Say that after you stop snoring!"

"What did you say?" Natsu jumped out of bed, his hair an utter mess and his eyes bloodshot from the sudden awaking. "Say that again, I dare you!"

A triple forehead clash took place performed by the three best troublemakers of Fairy tail. They faced each other glaring intensely when a loud cry was heard from the girl's room. Natsu and Gray recognized it immediately as they shouted. "Lucy!" All three of them ran worried about the girl busting open door after door until they reached the girl's room.

Natsu was the first to step in breaking heavily as he did. Unable to predict the sudden halt, Gray bumped behind him throwing the dragon slayer face first on the floor. Gajeel followed not far behind completing their messy arrival.

Levy and Erza looked at the intruders astonished by the way they broke in. They still wore their pajamas making the boys regret their previous decision. Too late, Erza was already on her way to-

Too late again, they were sent flying backwards until they felt their backs hit against the corridor wall.

Lucy came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Judging by her face, people would assume she just found out she had cancer. She sat beside the other girls unable to mutter a sound. Erza slowly approached her resting a hand over the blonde's shoulder.

"What happened?" She asked gently. "You scared us all."

Meanwhile Levy instructed Gajeel on fixing the door. She failed to notice Gray and Natsu sneaking away from the crime scene.

Lucy sniffed a few times before leaning closer to whisper to the red-head. "I gained a few pounds!" She confessed feeling her heart ache.

"You gained weight!" Erza screamed alarmingly.

Lucy rushed to cover the woman's mouth with her right hand while raising her index finger before her own mouth. "Shhhhhhh…" She begged for silence. "That was supposed to be a secret, you know."

"Unacceptable!" Erza declared. "We must do something about this; a mage should keep both body and mind in check no matter what."

Lucy's face flushed deep crimson. "Erza… keep it down." She retorted with a trembling voice.

At the background, Levy could be seen tip toing to pat on Gajeel's head when he finished fixing the door. "You can go now." She dismissed the hard working dragon slayer.

Levy returned to her bed and carelessly dropped on it making it shake a little. "You could ask for help to train. This is your chance to get closer to Natsu."

Lucy blushed when she noticed Erza staring at her with a puzzled look. "So you're into Natsu, huh?" Asked the titania.

"Yes…"

"It took you this long to realize?" Levy laughed softly. "You're a bad friend, Erza!"

Lucy changed into her casual clothes and headed to the window to see Natsu running towards the city center. He was probably headed to the grand magic games' arena.

A white dove landed close to the girl's hand startling the easily frightened mage. "Jeez… you scared me." Lucy stroked the animal's head feeling some sort of compassion coming from it.

"What should I do?" She asked the dove out of anguish. "Should I ask Natsu for help to train?" As soon as she finished the phrase, the dove flew away from her.

"Even the dove can't stand your indecisiveness." Levy teased. The short girl grinned making fun of her friend.

Lucy turned around embarrassedly. "Hey!"

Erza clapped her hands twice trying to earn everyone's attention. "Anyway, we'll have time to discuss that later on, for now we should focus on the grand magic games' second day."

* * *

"I'm not taking no for an answer!" Said a very stubborn salamander with his arms firmly crossed over his chest. "I'll be the one to take on Chariot!"

Still at the hotel, Fairy tail A discussed their choices for the second day's event. Like usual, each team had to choose a member, but Fairy tail had that unusual something about it. Natsu stormed in front of his friends determined to change his team's fortune for the better.

"I guess it can't be helped then." Erza let escape with a sigh.

Gray and Lucy exchanged looks that showed slight discontent with the decision.

"It's not like any of us have any special abilities in a race, why not allow him to take this one on?" The titania reasoned.

Lucy smiled showing her support for the fire dragon slayer. "Ok, you have my full support." She tapped the boy's shoulder and was hugged tightly in response.

"Thanks Lucy!"

Natsu's _too close for comfort_ approach didn't go unnoticed by the remaining mages in the room. Erza studied Gray's face while he stood with a blank expression. It was hard to read, but it was far from the always cool ice mage the red-head grew used to.

A few hours later that day, the audience was euphoric at the beginning of the second day of the grand magic games. People cheered for their favorite teams and released victory cries at their entrances. Fairy tail was the deception scoring zero points up until now.

The very first thing they noticed when they got to the new stage was the presence of moving chariots all across the race path. Panic spread around fairy tail A members as they feared for the inevitable.

As soon as the race began, Natsu, Gajeel and Sting were completely overrun by the other mages. The three dragon slayers suffered miserably as they began feeling motion sickness, Natsu and Gajeel shooting insults back and forth along the way.

Jason was a guest commentator at the second day and wouldn't stop shouting cool at whatever the mages did; in fact, his most recurrent commentary was the word alone.

Gray, who had been absent for the first part of the race, showed up carrying a hot dog and took a seat next to his team members. "What did I miss?" He asked not really interested in the answer.

Lucy fought the urge to buy herself a hot dog remembering the few pounds she put up. _I can't, I can't, and I can't._ She kept reminding herself that she shouldn't be thinking about food right now. The hot dog looked particularly appealing now that she knew she couldn't eat it.

"Gray…"

He paused munching on his junk food to answer her. "Hn?"

Everything inside her implored for a bite, but instead, she took a detour trying to avoid the self-sabotage. "You shouldn't eat things like this; it's bad for your health." She tried.

"Being hungry is bad for my health." With each bite Gray seemed to enjoy his meal even further. It was then that he spoke the forbidden words to her. "Care for a bite?" The question took some time to register in her mind.

Lucy felt her mouth begin to water. "No, thanks. I'd rather remain healthy!" She lied. She was hungry enough to eat that hot dog even it meant being sick for a whole week.

"I'll have the last bite if you don't mind." Erza joined the competition. She reached for Gray's hand to pick the half eaten meal, but Lucy pulled his hands closer to her mouth biting the hot dog before Erza had the chance to claim it.

Gray was surprised by the sudden change of heart. He watched Lucy as she held his hands biting his hot dog and he wondered how someone managed to look so cute while eating. She stared into his eyes as if waiting for reassurance that she could keep the unexpected food stealing.

"You can have it…"

Erza chuckled at the sight beginning to feel her inner worries start to become more evident inside her. She banned the thoughts from her mind deciding it would be best to ignore them for now.

* * *

The race had finally started with the other guilds in clear advantage over Fairy tail. Lucy sighed seeing as how Natsu was failing at the race, she mentally regretted agreeing with Erza's decision. The celestial spirit mage leaned to her side to whisper something in Gray's ear, a habit she has kept for a while without her own realization.

"We shouldn't have let him go there." She confessed. "But then again… it wouldn't be fair since we failed before him."

Gray followed her secrecy and leaned closer to her covering his mouth as he spoke. "Tell me about it, I'm trying to convince myself it was the best choice too."

They shared a laugh, both nervous at the performance of their team mate, but it was what happened next that made they lose their ground. Lucy started to notice people staring too intensely at her, their looks very suggestive.

The girl repeated her previous actions leaning to whisper to Gray again. "Did I do something I shouldn't? People are staring at me."

"No idea."

Erza poked both mages pointing at the lacrimas transmitting their image to a big screen that floated around the event's area. Jason wasted no time to transform the simple whisper into a more appealing situation, something reporters knew exactly how to do.

"Cooooool! Cooool, cooool!" Just when we thought the main event was the race, it looks like fairy tail A is putting up a private show!"

The screen showed the exact moment in which Lucy and Gray started whispering before _smiling_ at each other. Lucy froze when she saw her face at the screen, she opened her trembling mouth to speak several times, but the words wouldn't leave.

"What could they have been discussing? Plans for the evening? Sneaking away together? Worry not! We'll have their lustful lips read in a second!" Jason stated boldly making the crowd grow interested.

Lucy's face went instantly red as she paused to watch Gray's reaction. The ice maker didn't seem to be as affected as she was, his face was definitely tinted by red and he had a hard time finding his photogenic side for the transmission. Aside from that, he managed to keep his composure.

A massive amount of killing intent could be felt from a very upset water mage. She muttered hateful words at nobody in specific with a shivering hand ready to send the ultimate water slice at a certain boyfriend stealer.

Jason started to rewind the scene going straight to the point they started to whisper. He picked Lucy's sentence and started to _read_ her lips.

"Gray-sama…" The choice of honorifics alone caused Lucy's air to leave her lungs. Jason proceeded cautiously as if paying attention to every movement of Lucy's lips. "You look so… coooool…" The man raised his hands to the air while saying his favorite word and then continued, "when you're serious, I want to hug you right where you stand."

Lucy's heartbeat increased dramatically as she tried to contain her embarrassment. Erza looked at the duo trying to deal with the intrusive commentator. Natsu was still doing his best not to pass out and Gray stood like a stone while the misunderstood began to escalate way too quickly.

Gray's mind did loops over the shortest way to end that situation, luckily for him the race came to a conclusion causing a switch of spotlight. Natsu guaranteed the first points for fairy tail A, barely crossing the finishing line. Gajeel followed the salamander with Sting coming not so far behind, but still in last place.

All mages were done celebrating victory or preparing for a better result in the next day. Fairy tail A had a reason to be proud of themselves for the first time since the beginning of the games. Natsu held a wide grin in his face that shone with delight, surely not the result he expected, but a beginning for what would become fairy tail's glorious return.

Levy and Lucy were talking casually about the early incident with the screen when Jason himself approached them. The man was as cheerful as ever with a smile that spoke on its own behalf. The reporter's intentions to strike up a conversation became more evident with every step he took.

The celestial spirit mage tried to avoid the man, but he was quick on his feet and blocked her way. "You are Lucy, right?"

Lucy thought about the time Jason visited Fairy tail and completely ignored her even when she dressed herself as a cat. Now here he was, saying her name and plotting something that most definitely involved her.

"Yes, that's me." She shot back in a snobbish way. "Thanks for making me look like a fool in front of everyone…" She spit out ironically.

"I had no intention to make you look like a fool; I wanted to make you look…"

"Coooool." Levy completed the man's sentence. "We know."

"Exactly!"

"I'm not interested… no matter what it is!" Lucy gave her only and final answer, or so she thought.

Jason increased his pace to keep up with Lucy's attempt to escape. "What if I give you an interview? A chance to be famous like Mirajane, how does that sound?"

The reporter noticed Lucy's hesitation for a while and had his hopes renewed. "You could be known in each corner of Fiore."

Levy beamed with the thought. "Maybe it's not that bad, Lucy. I think you should give it a chance." She smiled brightly. "I want my best friend to be famous."

Lucy pondered for a while thinking about the pros and cons. "I don't know… it sounds a bit suspicious." She glanced at Jason's direction and studied his face.

Seeing as how the girl was still deep in thoughts, Jason pushed the matter by suggesting something even more alluring. "I'll commend your books so you get the support you need to publish them."

By now, Levy was already by Jason's side completing the man's arguments as to why Lucy should accept his offer. The blonde reasoned a lot before muttering her answer, still afraid to regret enrolling and compromising herself with something she didn't even know yet.

"Alright, follow me this way please!"

Jason led the way not minding Levy's presence there; the short girl had proved to be a greater ally than he would have thought. They walked through a few streets in a terrible silence making Lucy grow anxious and nervous by the minute. Eventually, they arrived at a huge building holding an extravagant sign with _Sorcerer Magazine_ written on it. Jason opened the door and allowed the girls inside.

Levy could barely contain her joy when she stepped inside the place. Lucy was equally mesmerized, but tried to keep her amusement at a low profile. Once inside the building, Jason presented the girls to his staff. Each of them greeted the mages before Jason gave the order to begin preparations for _that_ photo shoot.

The simple omission made Lucy go from amazed to worried sick. She could only imagine what ' _that'_ would imply in the sentence. Deciding not to give up before seeing what the obstacle was, she pushed her courage, and probably her luck, a bit forward.

Unimaginable was her surprise when she saw Natsu and Gajeel sitting on a huge cough in a separate room. She looked at Levy who wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"What are they doing here?" She questioned in disbelief.

"They're here to help." Levy answered confirming Lucy's previous assumptions. The little scheming genius knew it all along. Lucy felt a bit betrayed, but wasn't about to make a scene over it. "You'll see." Levy completed.

Jason took the next few minutes explaining what he had planned for the involved mages. "That incident with the screen gave me an idea! People want to look into the personal lives of the contestants, so we'll have a couple photo shoot with all of you and create a poll for people to choose their favorite couple."

Lucy frowned. "So this is what you had planned…" She crossed her arms dissatisfied with the man's attitude. "I don't know if this sounds interesting anymore."

"Lucy!" Natsu rushed to meet the blonde. He was still nauseous from the race and looked like he had been through some medical magic to calm his nervous system. "I thought you wouldn't come. These guys offered me jewels to take pictures of me!" He grimaced at the apparent one sided deal he made.

Levy was looking for Gajeel when she spotted the metal dragon slayer sitting on a chair with several women around him. Something inside the girl was set ablaze as she pouted angrily glaring daggers at Gajeel's back. She went closer to realize the women were actually makeup artists applying makeup on his face.

Her sudden urge to murder the brunette became pity as she watched Gajeel's absolute disgust when looking at his reflex in the mirror. In the other hand, her cheeks now hurt with the futile attempt to hold back her laughter.

Gajeel almost fainted when he saw the girl rolling on the floor with the vision she just had. "It's not what it looks like! I'm not… they're not… I ah…" He stuttered miserably trying to regain his calm, but every effort he put into being in control turned out to be fuel for his own demise.

At the other side of the room, Jason picked a piece of paper from over a table nearby and brought it to Lucy along with a pen. He handed her what seemed to be a contract and waited for her to read it, all two-hundred and sixty five pages.

Lucy gave the document a quick scan up until the fourth page before sighing in defeat.

"Where do I sign this?"

"Here, here, here and here!" Jason pointed out as he browsed the document back and forth between the pages.

"Let me get this straight!" Lucy added a last remark. "So we're going to be paired… but do we get to choose who we're going to be paired with, or you're going to be the one to do that?"

Jason shrugged. "Whatever you think is cooler!" The man suggested.

Lucy considered her options and knew which one was the obvious. "I guess I'll go with Natsu then, right Levy?" She winked at the other girl.

"Why are you asking me that?" Levy almost lost her breath. She looked at Gajeel who was rubbing his face on a towel like a maniac. The girl had to wonder what made him so attractive in the first place.

With all the details covered and decided, Jason prepared the remaining mages for the shooting session while his work mates started to set up the background. "We'll begin in ten." He informed making everyone hurry on their feet.

There were people walking everywhere and in every direction, the environment became loud and confusing. "Five minutes to go." Jason started pulling Natsu and Lucy to the shooting area of his choice. He positioned both mages and instructed them to pose for the first picture.

Lucy felt comfortable enough with the pose, she just had to stand beside the fire dragon slayer and place a hand over his shoulder. She was told to smile which proved to be harder than she anticipated. It was hard for her to keep a fake smile.

She made multiple other poses with Natsu as her partner and eventually got to the embarrassing ones. Lucy had to hug the fire eater looking into his eyes while having their bodies pressed tightly together. She looked at Natsu who would just tell Jason to pick up the pace since he was tired of the boring event.

Lucy panicked thinking about her lack of charm. How could Natsu be so carefree while holding her body so close to his? Did that mean he wasn't interested in her? Maybe he was just not interested in girls. She let her thoughts carry her too far when she started thinking Natsu could actually be gay. Lucy shook her head violently denying the option with all she had.

Jason paused the session noticing the girl's weird behavior. "Something wrong?" he positioned himself again and was about to click his camera button when someone else's voice rudely interrupted him.

"I'm sorry… but for some reason, I can't seem to remember where I left my clothes." A shirtless ice mage entered the room wearing only boxers.

The exhibitionism caused certain discomfort on a few women and something else on the other half, some men included. Juvia appeared shortly after Gray carrying his clothes in her arms. "Gray-sama dropped these!" She walked up to her beloved handing him the recovered pieces.

"Finally, the last couple arrives!" Jason complained. "Arriving late is not cool! Dress back and head to your positions!"

"Gray!" Lucy exclaimed against her better judgment. "You're here too." Her second sentence came in a lower tone and held hints of disappointment.

"I've been invited too… some sort of couple competition, right?"

Lucy left her spot and gave Gray a greeting hug. "I thought Natsu and Gajeel were the only guys from fairy tail here."

"Hands off!" Juvia ordered in a demanding tone. "Gray-sama is Juvia'a pair. Go hug Natsu."

Lucy turned to the water mage denying any hidden intention as she usually did, only this time the accusation seemed to annoy her a lot more than she would have expected. "I was just greeting him." She defended herself.

Juvia held Gray's arm possessively ready to start a cat fight. The water mistress was never one for starting arguments, but rumors have been flying that Gray and Lucy had been intimate, and she was not the one behind these rumors.

The celestial spirit mage decided to let the subject go assuming it would do her good to avoid unnecessary matters. However, something troubled the blonde. She experienced loss for the first time in many she had talked to Juvia about that. It was almost as if she wanted to fight back, but what for? She wasn't sure.

How ridiculous to assume a single night could cause such a drastic change in her behavior. It couldn't have been that night, could it? But when she thought about denying it, the only other explanation she could come with is that she had been nurturing unknown feelings for Gray all along. No matter how hard she thought about it, every alternative she found was automatically labeled as unlikely.

The photo shooting was carried on without any other interruptions. The couples were kept the same much to Juvia's happiness. Jason handed each mage a copy of their pictures for free and thanked them once again for their availability. Of course he also paid them handsomely for their services.

The sun was beginning to set when they left the sorcerer magazine building. The sky was painted in orange and a few clouds still covered the dim lights of the fading sunshine. Lucy walked ahead of the others, going to the hotel alone. She currently wondered about more subjects than her brain was capable of processing.

Lucy looked at the pictures they took from her and she was happy to be that close to Natsu, after all, it was no secret that she liked the boy, even though she was too shy to admit it. Lucy had accepted her feelings for the salamander a long time ago. Everything went exactly as predicted until she saw Gray with Juvia.

When did she begin to wish Gray would just be honest and tell the water mage he was not interested in her. When did she begin to think about replacing Juvia? She felt cold inside as a devastating feeling overwhelmed her senses.

It was easy to deny the jealousy, but it was nearly impossible to escape from it. She watched one of the pictures Jason took from Gray and Juvia and unconsciously pressed her thumb over Juvia's face. She looked at Gray and felt the sickening sensation becoming even stronger. Suddenly, her mind started inducing all kinds of worries she never felt before.

Where was Gray now? What was he doing and with whom?

The most alarming of them… was he thinking of her too?

Absurd, incomprehensible and unreal, those were the only words that could describe what she felt right now. She didn't like him, she knew that, she liked Natsu, the hot-headed, impulsive boy who had been with her through all of her troubles and had supported her all along, it was only natural for her to fall in love with him.

After arriving at the hotel, Lucy took a long shower to cool her head and lay on her bed for a while. She heard Gray's voice in the corridor and felt the urge to stand and follow him for the rest of the night until he went to sleep.

"This is ridiculous." She mumbled under her breath. "I look like a pre-teen with a crush on someone else's boyfriend."

The celestial spirit mage was about to fall asleep when she heard a knock on the bedroom door. She slowly made her way to check who could be disturbing her sleep that late in the night. She opened the door and saw Gray standing at the other side.

Lucy rubbed her eyes and covered her mouth yawning as she began to feel the lack of sleep getting to her. "Gray… what are you doing here so late?"

"I heard… you need help with something." He confessed and noticed Lucy was still clueless about his early statement. "Someone told me you wanted help to train."

Lucy's face went pale. Someone told Gray about her weight problems without her consent. "W-Who told you that?" She questioned nervously.

"Does it really matter?"

"Ok…" She tried to display a firm expression faking pride as she spoke. "I do need to train." She was sure to refrain from asking for help trying to save what little dignity she still possessed.

"I'll help you out." Gray glanced at Lucy's bed undone and assumed she was about to go to sleep. "We can start tomorrow if you want. You seem to be ready to sleep."

He turned around to leave, but Lucy managed to stop him in time. "Wait…" She held his hand letting her fingers intertwine with his.

Gray was honestly taken aback by Lucy's unusual approach, but he did nothing to prevent it. "Yes?" He asked feeling tension build in the air.

She looked away feeling odd while holding Gray's hand. "Never mind." She let go feeling her palm slide over his. Lucy felt him enforcing his grip on her hand and looked back at her friend.

"Lucy… I'm not sure I understand it well, but…"

Her eyes slowly begin to widen. Was he going to confess to her? Her heart skip a beat as her whole interior malfunctioned causing the girl to stand still unable to react.

"I think I might be starting to…"

She squeezed his hand feeling her legs tremble as he clumsily spoke his heart's content. "Starting to?" Lucy tried to force it out of him.

A familiar girlish chattering took place in the corridor making Gray abandon whatever he intended to reveal. "I'll check on you tomorrow so we can begin." He said in a hurry and kissed her cheek before sprinting to his room.

"Wait! Gray!" She covered her mouth realizing she had called his name too loud. Lucy was under her blankets in a matter of seconds. The other girls entered the room commenting about the scream they heard on the corridor.

She never felt she would feel like strangling one of her friends, but here she was, struggling not to strangle all of them. Lucy could still see the tender look on his face as he fought back his shyness. Just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, Juvia started babbling about how close she was to _Gray-sama_ during the photo shoot.

 _How annoying._ Lucy sighed angrily. She placed a hand over the spot in her cheek that Gray had kissed. _He kissed me…_

She fought back a persistent smile thinking about what happened to make her look Gray in a different light. It was still too soon to decide anything. Lucy went to sleep anticipating the third day of the grand magic games. Tomorrow had battles stored for her team and now was not the time to be thinking about matters of the heart.

* * *

 **Sorry for using this unusual updating system. As I already told you guys, I don't have much time to write. I'd like to thank Anti-Emo, Guest and Shanyanya for the kind words. It's because of you guys that I'm able to continue to write. As Lucy said in the first chapter, we writers are selfish creatures, we write for feedback ;P**

 **Here goes the second short story. Enjoy.**

* * *

 **Cupid.**

Gray was in the middle of a market choosing not so healthy food for a especial occasion. He was going to have a movie night with his girlfriend at her apartment. The mage paused deep in thoughts deciding what he would take home with him.

He felt someone watching him from his behind, but paid no attention; it was probably just Juvia stalking him again. Gray picked a few microwave popcorn and threw in a chart getting ready to head to the next section when...

"Boo!"

"OH MY GOD!" He reacted screaming in alarm and throwing his popcorn in the air. Gray lowered his head to see Levy looking at him with a worried face.

"I'm sorry, Gray!" She rushed to his side resting a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't think it would startle you this much." She admitted.

Gray was panting heavily and had a hand pressed against his chest over his heart. "It's ok... I was just pretending."

Levy finished picking the discarded popcorn and handed them to Gray. "I'm sure you were." She smiled sweetly and stood aside to make way for him. "What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"I'm buying some stuff for a movie night with Lucy."

"Ohhh..." Levy covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "You two are going really fast, aren't you?" She asked with a suggestive look.

"Hm... is that what you call going fast? I guess Gajeel must take it really slow with you. I'm way beyond movie night with Lucy."

"Ehh?" Levy exclaimed admired at Gray's honesty about the subject. "What do you mean way beyond? And why did you bring Gajeel's name up?"

Gray raised an eyebrow and continued to walk, Levy followed his every step. "I meant movie nights become simple things after two years of dating. And wasn't Gajeel your boyfriend?" The ice maker paused to pick some candies from another shelf.

"Gajeel? My boyfriend?" She almost yelled.

Gray stared back at her in pure disbelief. "Talk about being slow... hasn't him confessed yet? Everytime Natsu and I go on a mission with that guy, all he does is talk about how adorable you are."

Levy's eyes spun like two little whirlwinds as the girl started to go into a state of delirium. "Is he going to confess to me?"

"I thought he had already done it!" Gray laughed briefly. "It's this kind of hesitation that made Natsu lose Lucy to me. Gajeel better move."

"This is so embarrassing... but I don't think he has many competitors." She spoke a little calmer slowly absorbing the idea.

"I take back what I said earlier." Gray moved to another section before continuing. "You're even slower than Gajeel." He chuckled this time. "Do you really think Jet and Droy want only your friendship?"

Levy had a shiver run down her spine as the ice mage's words registered in her brain. "You can't be serious." She retorted.

"YOU can't be serious!" He shot back. "Those guys are all over you, Levy!"

The small girl struggled to accept so much information. "No way!" She replied nervously.

"Yes way! And if you tell me you don't know I was also in love with you, I'm really going home."

Levy jumped in place, stuttering frantically as she waved her hands in front of her. She tried to come up with something understandable. "Y-Y-Y-Yo... you... t-t-t-tooo?" She pointed an index finger to him while having the other one pointed to herself.

"Not really... I just wanted to see if you'd believe everything I say."

"Oh really?" She asked with implicit sarcasm.

"Ya' really."

Levy frowned heavily. "This isn't fun..." She felt her pride hurt. "So all you told me now... did you make it all up?"

"No."

Levy blushed again. "Oh lord." She covered her face with her hands. "How am I supposed to face them now?"

"No idea."

She turned to him screaming while he picked a box of chocolates. "You should have some consideration at least! Think about the consequences!"

"You're right, I'd hate to be in your shoes, by the way, can you pick that one for me?"

Levy took the desired item and handed it to Gray instantly forgeting why she had been mad for the past thirty minutes.

"Thanks."

"You're wel- Ahhhhh!" She took her hands to her head messing her hair in despair. "Cheater!"

"Cheater?!" Came a third voice from the other side of the shelves. "Why are you calling my boyfriend a cheater?" Lucy turned around the shelf and joined them.

"Explain yourself!" The blonde demanded glaring at the clueless ice maker.

"Me?" He pointed a finger to himself questioningly.

"Yes, you!"

"He wasn't cheating on you, Lucy..." Levy tried to halt the growing tension. "He was cheating on me!"

"What?" Lucy asked throwing her hands at her hips. "What's going on here?"

"It's not what you're thinking!" Gray panicked releasing the forsaken words of obvious guilt. "I can explain it!" He finished the combo digging his own grave.

Levy noticed the situation getting out of hand and slapped Gray on the back of his head. "Shut up!" C-C-C-Combo breaker. "You're making it look even worse!"

Levy remembred how Gajeel usually solved his matters and tried to mimick him. "LISTEN TO ME WOMAN!" She resorted to her last move by holding Lucy by the shoulders and trying to push some sense into her head. It failed miserably, so she explained the whole situation to Lucy instead.

Lucy sighed in relief and disappointment at the same time. "You should have said that from the start." She smiled at her friend.

"I tried..." Levy's gaze dropped to the ground.

Lucy mused for a while before replying. "So you really didn't know Gajeel was into you?"

Levy's face went blank again. "Deja vu?" She went back to her uncontrolable frenesi.

"It's that kind of thing that made Natsu lose me... Gajeel should know better." Lucy added.

Gray nodded in silence beside his girlfriend.

"You two..." Levy took three steps back before disappearing from view. The girl ran as fast as she could trying to avoid more awkwardness.

The couple watched as Levy vanished in the distance. Gray turned to look at Lucy then glanced at his left glanced at his left. "You can leave now!" He ordered.

They noticed an alarmed person stiff from behind a shelf. Juvia moved from her hideout revealing her presence.

"Juvia didn't mean to spy..."

Gray blinked a few times before continuing. "I meant someone else." He informed making Juvia's face go deep crimson.

"Awkward..." Lucy spoke behind her palm in a teasing manner.

Juvia bowed and left immediately.

Gajeel moved from another shelter and went to greet them. "So... how did it go?!"

"Didn't I tell you she was into you? She said she couldn't wait to hear the truth from you and ran to the guild." Lucy reasoned.

"You better not be kidding me." He threatened before sprinting towards the guild.

* * *

One week later, Gray and Lucy were browsing the shelves for more junk food. Lucy wasn't really fond of the food choice, but Gray's last remark got her thinking.

 _Have you ever heard someone say 'pass me the salad' in a movie night?_

They walked in silence picking all kinds of food when they suddenly spotted a familiar blue-haired girl. Levy walked holding hands with none other than Gajeel.

"Are we good, or are we good?" Lucy smiled pecking her boyfriend's lips.

They shared a bro fist before saying in unison.

"Mission accomplished."

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you liked this one. As usual, I don't know how often I'll be able to update it. I hope you understand.**


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